I have been smoking for about 12 years now. This year at Thanksgiving (our tradition is smoked turkey), my beloved smoker fell apart on me. Yes, it was a cheapo $180.00 one from Academy, but with modifications it served me well. I am now in the market for a new smoker and am looking for some opinions on the ones I have narrowed it down to. I'm not looking to spend a great deal of money as I am just a backyard enthusiast and only grill/smoke for family and friends. I am looking at: Old Country BBQ Pits Pecos Smoker from Academy and the Sear & Smoke Competition series from HEB. They are both the same price and I kind of like the look of the Sear and Smoke better, but I still have to go and physically measure them both to see how the capacities differ. Any advice or critiques on either or both?

I've not looked into the Sear 'N Smoke in person. I just pulled it up on the website.

I have seen the Old Country pits (from Academy, I presume) in person. My choice would be the Old Country pits. They seem to be much more solid (again, seen in person but not the Sear 'N Smoke) and are welded rather than bolted.

Some reviews on other sites mention leaking and thin metal.

I think in the long run you would save money by going with the Old Country. There would likely be fewer mods to make it cook the way you want.

Wow, Thanks everyone I am going to get the Pecos and mod it a little...been looking at all kinds of websites and the prices are just astronomical, I'm in the wrong business. Although I would love to get a smoker with 1/4" steel, I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a grill to my wife...though the $1,500 I spent on jewelry for her at Christmas was perfectly fine...funny how that works huh.